At Least This Place Sells T-Shirts: A FoxTrot Collection

FoxTrot (B&W) #10

by Bill Amend

Growing up isn't always fun in real life, but in the world of FoxTrot , it's always worth a laugh. Between overblown science experiments, babysitting jobs from hell, and sibling rivalry honed to an art form, the Fox household reverberates the sounds of a far-out, yet familiar, family life. One of FoxTrot 's great appeals is its understanding of the pains and pleasures of youth. The Fox kids-little brother Jason, the mischievous genius; sister Paige, the boy-crazy shopping fanatic; and big brother Peter, a sports fan with aspirations to be a sports star-interact naturally, which is to say loudly and vigorously. In addition, creator Bill Amend uses many real-life situations and dilemmas modern kids face to frame his stories. "It's a tricky balance," says the artist. "On one hand I have this wonderful opportunity to present good role models to younger readers, but at the same time I want to be funny." And he succeeds. In At Least This Place Sells T-Shirts , parents Andy and Roger continue to preside over the unpredictable household antics of the Fox family.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Comic Strips, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Cartoon, Comic Book

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Bill Amend is an American cartoonist, best known for his comic strip FoxTrot.
Born as William J. C. Amend III, Amend attended high school in Burlingame, California where he was a cartoonist on his school newspaper. Amend is an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. He attended Amherst College, where he drew comics for the college paper. He majored in physics and graduated in 1984.
After a short time in the animation business, Amend decided to pursue a cartooning career and signed on with Universal Press Syndicate. FoxTrot first appeared on April 10, 1988.
Amend currently lives in the midwestern United States with his wife and two children, a boy and girl.

Reviews

[Lora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Family friendly comic series- this particular book has a great cover of two of the family being bored in a book store.
When I was a kid, the Sunday comics were a special delight worth fighting five other siblings for. But when MY kids came along, it seemed as though the quality of the comics had gone down. There were more swear words and blatant sexual themes running throughout. The political and cultural indoctrination were well underway. The rest of the Sunday paper had gone downhill as well. The op/ed page made less sense in its arguments, the news headlines were weirder than ever, and the editor must have de-evolved into a spell check machine, because the misspellings were everywhere, hanging in columns like over ripe fruit on an abandoned old apple tree.
Our budget had to have surgery; the newspaper was one of the first to go. Even though that was years ago, I still miss hovering over those wide open pages and a cup of hot chocolate. What has been a life saver, of sorts, is books like this one. We looked up our favorite Sunday comics and bought some of the book editions. They've been a valuable addition to our home library! We love our classics, sci-fi, and poetry, but comics serve their own little niche when you need a quiet little laugh on a rainy afternoon.
The Fox Trot family has provided our family with plenty of pleasure over the years.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing our recent fascination with all things Foxtrot, we all zipped through this early anthology of the popular comic strip by Bill Amend.

I really enjoy this comic strip, but after reading several different anthologies, the jokes are starting to feel a bit too recycled. Still, I really enjoyed seeing older versions of the characters. Like my beloved Garfield strip from my childhood, it's interesting to see how the artist's drawing style changes over time.

Since the book features strips from about more than two decades ago, quite a bit of the pop culture references are very dated, and our girls didn't get all of them. And I had to really laugh at the technology (computers, actual phones...with cords, VHS videos (and movie rental stores!), typewriters, etc.), since it's so ancient. It's a bit of nostalgia, since I remember very clearly what life was like back then.

[Jason Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

BANGER 🗣️🗣️🗣️

[David Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was working in any of the many bookstores where I was employed and I did not want (or have the time) to read my current book, I would grab one of these collections to read on my too short break. I slowly but surely worked my way through several series. These are great time killers and will usually improve your mood no matter how hectic the day. Laughter can be the best solution to dealing with the public.

[Cait · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of the collection publications I bought of Foxtrot and was certainly not the last. I've bought so many of these and have continued to pick them up and re-read them for decades because I just love this series so much. I feel like I grew up with the Fox family and at any given point in my life have related to each of the characters. I absolutely adore that about them. I got to meet Bill Amend recently at a comic convention and was so overcome with emotion at meeting someone so influential from my childhood that I burst into tears, and then proceeded to watch him have that same effect on others as well. This series means so much to me and I will carry it with me forever.

[David Allen Hines · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been re-reading the many Foxtrot books I bought years ago, and am having a great time with them! There are a few dated strips here and there, but for the most part these comics read as well and as funny as when they were first penned and any fan of the series will love this book!

[Bookworm Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holds up to age well and family friendly. Reading these with the kids and seeing them enjoy them new

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this several times and just pick it off the shelf now & again. I love Fox Trot

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always a fun read.

[Megan Haddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

read for a book club and remembered how much I loved foxtrot as a kid!

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the foray back into the medium, but Foxtrot has never been and continues to not be my favorite comic--there's too much being mean on purpose for me.

[Victoria & David Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always fun.

[jacky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love FoxTrot. This a collection from 1996, so the references to pop culture are older, but still funny since I grew up with Star Trek, X-files, and Highlander in the house. I also love how these strips depict school from the teen's point of view.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, nothing's like a bookstore on a frosty evening...unless you're with the Fox kids, who have their own ideas of pleasure. That's only one of the episodes in this collection of daily and Sunday cartoon strips.

[Malik Vest Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny. This is the first Foxtrot collection I got so it’s nostalgic. The funnier ones are weirdly near the 2nd half of the book. Still enjoyable throughout. However there are funnier collections I’ve found in my recent retrospective.

[Mita · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's no other way of saying it except that FoxTrot is made of awesome. Amen!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

wish i had the cover as a poster

[Dalaina Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love sunday comic strips. I have always collected them! I was happy to add this to my collection when I snagged it from a thrift store! As always Fox Trot leaves me with a smile on my face.